Stop Running
by GwendolynTalbot
Summary: While investigating a lead on an abduction, Olivia disappears. What she discovers when she wakes leaves her stunned. EO eventually, in a painfully angsty sort of way. Rated T for language and mild sexual themes and violence, nothing graphic. "this moment, right here, is all I have left."
1. Chapter 1

**Author Note - this story was not just my first fanfic but first piece of creative writing. I had never ventured into creative writing before and just in the short time that I have been writing, I have improved a lot. I intend to rewrite this story, correcting my crimes against grammar, and making the story more fluid. Please feel free to leave suggestions for how this could be improved - I am not happy with it for a few reasons, but the last two chapters are much stronger. **

Olivia, Nick, Fin and Amanda gathered around the table in front of a screen where images of three women were displayed. Captain Cragen walked over to the detectives and joined them.

"Where are we on this Olivia?" he said.

Olivia Benson moved to the screen, gesturing to the photos of the three victims.

"Over a three month period, these three women have been abducted by the same people. There are no leads on the abductions, but no more than two have been seen at the scenes.

The first victim, Janey Harding, was abducted at gunpoint and pulled into a grey van. She was blindfolded and restrained and taken to an unidentified location before being raped twice by two different men. She was held for 3-4 hours before being driven to a parking lot and pushed out of the van. She was badly beaten, and has not regained consciousness yet."

Olivia gestured to the second photo.

"The second victim, Lisa Parsons, was also taken at gunpoint, later that month, but she was found dead, her throat slit, 5 days later, she was abducted in almost identical circumstance, just three blocks away from Janey Hardings abduction."

"This has stepped up now that the abductors have escalated to murder. The fourth victim, Alyssa Cowes, was taken from a parking lot one hour ago." added Captain Cragen.

"The circumstances of the abduction are the same."

The detectives had studied footage from cameras, followed up every lead, and were interviewing someone who had been seen loitering in the vicinity of the last abduction, but so far, they were not getting any luck.

Later that day, Munch and Fin exited the interrogation room, shutting the door before they turned to Olivia and Nick who were observing.

"That got us nowhere." Munch sighed, his fingers rubbing his brow in tired frustration.

"This isn't looking good, we're not catching a break here." Nick said.

"Cut him loose." Cragen said, approaching. "He's not giving us anything we can use. We may have a new lead - Janey has woken up."

**ABANDONED BUILDING**

After piecing together the fragments of the victims memory, they now had a potential location, a disused building, which had previously been in use as a large warehouse. After studying the buildings plans, the team were getting ready to move in. Olivia and Nick moved in cautiously from their position at the respective fire exits to the building. Fin and Amanda approached the main door.

Within moments they were in, all moving from their respective positions seeking an entrance to the basement. Olivia moved quickly and quietly, until she suddenly stumbled, almost losing her footing. Looking down, she spotted a metal ring, and realised that it was a handle for a hatch. As they had agreed to hold radio silence, to remain undetected and alerting the kidnappers to their presence, Olivia remained still, watching for Nick. Once he moved into her line of sight, she gestured to him. He moved toward her, and she silently pointed to the hatch. Nick nodded and Olivia carefully opened it, as Nick stood with his gun aimed at the hatch.

Beneath the hatch was a staircase. Olivia also drew her gun, and they both descended the narrow stone steps.

Meanwhile, Fin and Amanda had made their way to the rear of the building, where Janey had told them she thought the door to the basement steps was located. They soon reached a door, and took position either side, their guns drawn. Fin carefully opened the door expecting to see steps to the basement, but to their surprise they were met with a small, cluttered office.

They both relaxed their arms, pointing their guns downwards.

"This is the only door Fin, this place might not even have a basement. She was drugged – we just can't be sure we're in the right place"

"We gotta be sure, until we know this is leading to nothing, the vic could be here." Fin replied.

They exited the office and began visually scanning the old building – Amanda pointed to the hatch door.

"Nick and Olivia must have gone down there."

"Let's go." Fin said, as they quickly made their way over to join them.

Meanwhile, Olivia and Nick were in a passageway leading away from the steps. Underneath the main building there was little to see, but dark stone walls and a narrow corridor which stretched out ahead of them. They walked slowly forwards, using their flashlights to illuminate the dimly lit passageway.

A loud bang suddenly startled them, instinct pulling them back towards each other when a door burst open next to Nick, allowing them little time to react.

"GUN!" yelled Olivia, as she spotted the glint of a weapon as it was thrust through the door. Nick spun around, and froze as he felt the cold steel of a gun pressing against his head.

Olivia aimed her gun at the man emerging through the door, but Nick was pulled through the door too fast, his flashlight falling to the ground, and rolling to a stop against the wall.

Olivia swallowed, keeping her composure and stepped forward trying not to lose sight of Nick. At that moment Fin and Rollins ran down the stairs, and towards Olivia. Suddenly the passageway was plunged into darkness, At the same moment Nick tried to get a hold of the gunman, blindly, and struggled, fighting him in the darkness.

"NICK!" Shouted Olivia.

As the the light from her flashlight shone onto Nick, he regained his bearings and shoved the gunman hard. In the briefest moment, the light was extinguished, as Olivia's flashlight clattered to the ground, she felt something wet over her mouth and nose, realising just a second too late that it was chloroform, she dropped to the floor. The last thing she heard was the sound of a gunshot, and Nick gasping in pain, as the darkness engulfed her.

MERCY HOSPITAL

Amanda was sitting in the waiting room, her back straight and her head against the wall as she focused on the ceiling. Fin paced, stopping as noticed the Captain approach.

"What the hell happened?" Cragen yelled as he hurried towards them.

"Nick took a bullet Captain. One shot was fired when the lights cut out.," said Fin

"We only had a split second to see anything. Once the lights were out it was pitch black," Amanda added.

"What did you see?"

"We heard Liv shout and ran down the stairs, she was standing by a doorway with her gun drawn, she went to go through but that's when the lights went out." said Amanda.

"We got our flashlights and found Nick. Called for a bus," began Fin, "It was a maze of tunnels down there, Liv went in after Nick, but we couldn't find her."

"The doctor came by twenty minutes ago. Nick's out of surgery, we are waiting to go in and see him. The bullet grazed his shoulder, so he'll hopefully be out of here tonight," Amanda said.

They were interrupted by the sound of the Captains cellphone ringing.

"Cragen. Tell me you have contact with Olivia, Munch."

He listened silently and then sighed as he ended the call.

"Olivia cell phone is off, she has made no calls since five today. That means she has been out of contact for over an hour. Where the hell is she?"

UNKNOWN LOCATION

Olivia awoke to the grim realisation that her hands were cuffed in front of her. She took a deep breath, and relaxed a little, realising that she was relatively unharmed and in no immediate danger. She got to her feet and inspected her surroundings.

She was in a dark room, lit only by a dull bulb hanging from the ceiling. There was an old couch against one wall, and a stack of what appeared to be empty boxes of varying sizes, against another wall. It appeared to be some sort of storage room. There were no windows, and only one obvious escape route - a door. Knowing that it would undoubtedly be locked, Olivia moved towards it, stopping to listen first at the door for any sounds that might indicate the presence of others. She tried the door handle, first cautiously, then when it did not open, she tugged harder. Sighing in frustration, she let go of the handle, just as she heard footsteps rapidly approach. She stepped back, and automatically reached for her gun, swearing to herself when she noticed it was missing. 

The sound of the door being unlocked put her on edge and ready to defend herself. As it opened she stepped to the side, hoping to give herself the option of getting through the door. 

She tensed as the door opened, and two men entered. Both men were unfamiliar to her, and made no attempt to disguise their faces. They looked at her, Olivia staring fixedly at them, slowly moving her eyes, from one to the other.

"What am I doing here?" Olivia demanded.

"All in good time, detective," said one of the men, giving her a somewhat creepy smile, while the other made a show of roaming her body with his eyes.

"Who are you?" Olivia asked, her voice betraying no signs of the anxiety she deftly kept at bay.

"Jack – and my friend here is Craig – and you..." he began, opening up the wallet containing her police identification, "are Olivia Benson," he crept closer.

"I like that name – kinda pretty, don't ya think?"

Craig circled her, not taking his eyes off of her, and moved closer.

"The other detective - quite the bleeder."

Olivia felt her heart thump harder in her chest and tried to remain calm.

"What did you do to him?"

They remained silent, enjoying her obvious struggle as she tried to stay strong.

"Is my partner OK? Tell me what the hell you want with me, and where my partner is!"

One of the men lunged toward her and she saw her chance. She made a rush for the open door, but was grabbed by her arms and thrown back, hitting the ground hard. Groaning, she moved to a sitting position, and started to get back on her feet. As a third man entered, she fell back in shock, and could only remain sitting on the floor, staring at him.

His eyes met hers as soon as he entered the room, and his expression went from surprised to something unreadable.

Craig looked at him quizzically.

"You asked what it took to trust you? Here's your only shot - prove you're not a cop anymore. Here's a little test for you."

Olivia could only look on in confusion as she struggled with a plethora of thoughts and feelings invading her mind.

The man standing before her, was Elliot Stabler.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to those who have reviewed, it means a lot to get a positive response to my first story. :-)**

**PRECINCT**

Fin, Munch, Amanda and Cragen stood around a table with blueprints spread out. On the screen in front of them, the partial footage of the last abduction was running on a loop, the detectives hoping to catch some sort of clue from the van.

Fin walked into the squad room, and dropped a file down onto his desk.

"No signal from her cellphone, how the hell did she just disappear?" he said, angrily.

"The blueprints show one other exit – a fire exit, further along but it leads out into the street and that area is covered by cameras. A van blocks the view, so that's all we have." Amanda added.

"So she had to have been taken out of the fire exit and in that van." began Nick as he walked into the squad room, his arm in a sling.

"Nick, i'm not going to tell you to go home, but you at least need to go easy." Cragen said, feeling concerned at Nick's return.

"I can't stay home and hope we find her. Not after what she went through with Lewis. We can't let some psycho get hold of her again!" Nick said, trying to control his rising anger.

"Let's start checking all the on street cameras, and locate that van" Cragen said.

**UNKNOWN LOCATION**

Olivia and Elliot stared at each other silently, until Elliot eventually spoke, a hard edge to his voice.

"What the fuck is this? You kidnapped a cop? You know my history, and I know that taking a cop is gonna cause a shitload of hassle. This is NOT doing any of us any favours." Elliot moved his eyes away from Olivia, with some effort, and turned to the other two men.

"_They will do everything to find her_."

"Well, let's make sure they don't find her then." sneered Craig.

"But we can have some fun with her first. You first of course Elliot, _we got this one especially for you_."

"What are you waiting for? We went to a lot of trouble here." laughed Jack.

Elliot paused, took a breath, then approached Olivia who was starting to shake off her shock and pull herself together. She tried to stand, but froze as Elliot grasped her firmly by her shoulders and pulled her up roughly until she was standing in front of him. She tried to hide the fear and confusion she felt, but she was battling to find words to even speak. She felt her heart thumping hard and fast in her chest, and although she tried to speak, she was unable to form any words.

She cursed herself for involuntarily letting out a whimper as Elliot released her shoulders, and grasped the back of her neck with one hand, and her lower back with the other, roughly pulling her close to him. She could only remain frozen in shock as he forced his mouth, hard to hers, kissing her bruisingly. The hand on her back, slipped down and squeezed her ass roughly. He then pulled away, but kept his firm grip on the back of her neck. She breathed out, not realising until now that she had been holding her breath, and tried with every ounce of her strength to stop her tears from falling.

"Get out, I don't get off with you two standing watching." Elliot said in a low, steady voice.

They laughed and turned, walking out of the room and closing the door behind them. Elliot stared after them, his eyes focused on the small window in the door.

He returned his gaze to her once again, and their eyes met. She fought to stay calm but her shock and confusion were all to clear. She looked at him, trying to decipher his intent, but his expression was unreadable – although she searched his eyes and noticed a hint of _something_ there.

The silence filled the room, surrounding them almost painfully as Elliot moved his hands to her shoulders and gripped firmly, walking her backwards towards the couch.

"Lye down" he said, his tone flat.

Olivia remained still, feeling nauseous and numb. Elliot swallowed hard, and took a deep breath, looking at her but now avoiding eye contact as he pushed her down, forcing her on to the couch. Olivia struggled, feeling cold and sick with panic and confusion, as he held her down, his grip on her arms tight and painful. She could only manage to hit him lightly in the face with her cuffed hands, to little effect. Her fight felt futile, her ability to defend herself dampened massively - but much more from her confusion than her restraints. When he eventually pinned his body on top of hers and she could no longer struggle, she gave in to her tears. The heaviness of his body on top of hers felt crushing and she struggled to breathe, wishing that at any moment she would wake up from this insane nightmare.

Olivia choked back a sob as Elliot moved his face close to hers, easing his weight from her body slightly as he did so. He released one of her arms as his hand ran down her side and gripped her belt.

"_Oh God, please don't do this Elliot_," begged Olivia, as she started to cry.

She sobbed harder as he placed his hand over her mouth, and moved his mouth down to the side of her face. She froze, fearing what he would do next.

He pressed his cheek against hers, and turned his head slightly so his mouth was almost against her skin. She shivered at the closeness, and he felt her tremble beneath him.

"I'm sorry Liv, I don't want to hurt you." He began, his voice low, and anxious.

"_I would never do that to you_. Calm down and listen, there isn't much time, I'm on the job, with the FBI. These men are part of a major sex trafficking ring. This has to look believable or I'm made, and then we're both dead."

Olivia's mind whirled as she tried to take in his words.

"Struggle. Fight me. I'm so sorry Liv, but this needs to be convincing. Do you understand?"

Elliot moved to look at her, removing his hand from her mouth and searching her eyes for a sign to show her permission.

Olivia tried to control her breathing and process what Elliot had just told her, feeling confused and trying to take it all in. She swallowed hard and looked at him.

"_Do what you have to_."

Elliot eased off of her, so that his bodyweight was no longer holding her down. He got hold of her shirt, and again, looked into her eyes.

"I'm gonna rip your clothes." he stated, but did not continue until she nodded.

He tore at her clothes, ripping her blouse open and unbuckled her belt before pulling her pants down, she eased her hips up, allowing him to pull the completely off. As he sat back and hooked his fingers in her panties, he looked at her again seeking permission.

"When they come back in, let them see you putting your clothes back on. I'm, um...just gonna make a rip, ok? "

She looked away from him, unable to take the intensity of his gaze, when his fingers were pressing against her skin in a way they never had before. For one brief moment, she began to feel heat spreading through her at the thought that she was so exposed, with Elliot on top of her, his fingers in her panties so close to pulling them free from her body.

"Olivia?" He asked, suddenly aware of her lack of eye contact. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." she breathed.

The heat she had briefly felt, instantly replaced by cold as the reality of the situation came back to her.  
He made a careful rip in her panties, and gave her an apologetic look as he stood up, moving to the doorway and opening it.

He paused in the doorway, trying hard to stay focused, to not slip and blow his cover, but even from the doorway he could see Olivia trembling and he felt sick that he had put her through that.

"I'm going to see where they are, i'll be back as soon as I can.,,"  
He exited and closed the door behind him, locking it.

Olivia sat back on the couch, tensely watching the door as her tears feel more freely, her breaths coming in short, ragged bursts as she tried to calm herself down and stopped crying. The shock at seeing elliot let alone his actions, however staged, were just too much to process at once.

_How the hell did I end up in this situation._

She froze, as moments later the door was unlocked and opened.

As Elliot walked in, she almost relaxed until she saw Craig with him, and acutely aware of her state of undress, she instinctively pulled her ripped blouse together and brought her knees up, to cover her body as best she could.

"Having fun _darling_? " said Craig, leering at her.

"Go to hell" she spat. Elliot tensed at Olivia's words, and flinched as Craig rapidly approached her, hauling her up by her arm and striking her across her face. She fell to the ground hard, unable to break her fall properly with her hands cuffed.

"I would love to have some fun with you right now but it'll have to wait, the boss is calling." Craig spat.

They exited the room and locked the door and Olivia got to her feet, reaching for her pants and pulling them on awkwardly with her cuffed hands.

_Sometime later, the door opened again and Elliot come back in alone, closing the door behind him and locking it. He walked straight over to the couch and sat down next to her._

"They have both left, they won't be back until much later." he said as he looked at her.

She met his eyes and immediately saw the regret and concern he carried.

"You know...that i'm sorry...that I had to do that..you know I would never harm you Liv, don't you?"

He placed a hand gently on her arm and reached out cautiously with his other hand, and smoothed her hair away from her face. His hand lingered as it settled lightly on her bruised cheek before moving down to her arm.

They sat together on the couch, his hand still lightly on her arm, but a careful distance between their bodies. Olivia's breathing was calming and her mind began to be flooded with thoughts. She turned to Elliot and he met her gaze, she opened her mouth but no words would come. She was annoyed at herself for not regaining her focus, she knew she needed to pull herself together, and fast. He took a deep breath as she felt his hand lightly rub her arm. The silence was piercing - and while Olivia's breathing had slowed, her heart continued to pound in her chest.

He watched her carefully for a moment, allowing her the option to talk first and when he realised that she was not speaking, he cleared his throat.

"I don't know how much time we have, but you have to get out of here. I have to play this carefully, I will let them think I ...got rid of you."

He gently lifted her hands, and unlocked the cuffs. She immediately rubbed at her wrists, and he reached down and took her hands in his. She kept her eyes on her wrists, unable to look at him as he turned her hands over in his, inspecting the marks on her wrists before placing her hands back onto her lap.

They were silent for a moment, before Olivia finally spoke.

"Is Nick OK – my..._partner_? He had a gun to his head..." Olivia asked with hesitation.

"I haven't seen anyone else." Elliot replied.

"But you didn't know I was here, he could be here too..."

"They haven't said anything about anyone else - if they had shot a cop, believe me, they'd be bragging. "

Olivia sighed and relaxed a little. "We were looking for Alyssa Cowes - is she here?"

"There is a woman here – I don't know her name – a lot of women pass through but they are never here for long."

"What about Lisa Parsons?"

"Olivia, I don't know, honestly."

"_I'm in, _Elliot. I need to know if they are here. _I can't just save my own skin if I'm this close to the victims_."

"Olivia, I can't risk this operation _or your life_. It'll be over soon."

"But you don't know how long - I'm not leaving without the woman that's here, if you can take me then you can take her too."

"Liv! They are not planning on letting you get out of here - I have been under for four months, I know these people." he sighed in frustration, "I don't want you hurt Liv, _I can't let that happen_."

Olivia stood and turned to face him, subconsciously pulling her ripped clothing further together. She stared at him, the silence between them making the air surrounding them thick and heavy.

She took a breath and then it shuddered as she exhaled. "I called you. I..._do you even realise_..."

"I can't do this, not now," Elliot interrupted, almost dismissively.

Olivia stared at him incredulously, and smirked before looking away, hoping the vulnerability she felt was not obvious in her voice.

"_Talk to me_." She whispered, forcing herself to return her eyes to his, willing him to answer, to explain, to apologise. Willing him to just say _something_, to help her understand how he could cut her out of his life.

They remained silent, their eyes locked to each others as she wondered whether he had the slightest idea just how much he had hurt her. She had been confused, worried, angry, lost and so much more, but now they were here, alone together, no words would come.

"You have to get out of here Liv, once they're back I don't know what they'll do. This is an opportunity, _let's go_."

"No. I need to see Alyssa" said Olivia. "How can you expect me to just leave knowing there are women suffering right here. _You know I can't just walk away El_. "

Elliot stood up and sighed, "I have been under for months, we are so close to moving in. If I do anything to blow it all the work the FBI have put in, all the..._sacrifices I have made_, it will be for nothing." Elliot walked towards the door opening it.

"Come on Liv, _please_. Just let me get you out of here. _Is it worth risking your life for_?"

Olivia stared at him silently, before standing and joining him at the door.

**Sorry if I had you worried there for a moment! How will things develop between Liv and El?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Many thanks to those reading, this is a slightly longer chapter, let's see where it takes our favourite detectives.**

**I do not own these characters, I have just borrowed them to take them out to play. I will try to play nicely :-)**

**CHAPTER 3**

The squad were gathered as Cragen stood to address his detectives and the officers who had joined them in their efforts to locate Olivia.

"Her cell stopped transmitting somewhere close to the point she was last seen, but it has not been located, neither has her radio. Our search of the tunnels under the building revealed one concealed exit, and the fire exit near to the location Olivia was last seen - both exits lead onto the streets. The cameras came up with nothing at one exit but the other may help us.

Munch moved to the front, pointing to the screen.

"At the other exit, a black van was parked, obscuring any view of the exit. The van leaves close to the time our people were inside the building. Street cameras show the van in the city, but we lose it after 20 minutes. It was heading East, but we haven't got anything else on the cameras."

"The plates are fake, there's nothing to help us identify the van or the driver." added Fin.

"The only break we have here is prints."continued Cragen.

"There were several partial matches, but we have one distinct set. It matches Jake Hoban, arrested for assault twice, and served 5 years in Rikers for narcotics offences. Other than that, we have little to go on, so let's follow all leads we can relating to Jake Hoban, financials, calls, associates - cover all bases."

As the officers dispersed, Amanda approached Cragen.

"We are assuming Olivia was in the van, but we have to consider that she might not be." She began.

"What are you thinking on this Rollins?"

"It's just a hunch Captain, but _a concealed exit_, maybe we missed something?"

"CSU are still down there, go and assist - follow your hunch Amanda."

**UNKNOWN LOCATION**

They walked silently through the hallways, Olivia making a mental map of her surroundings so she did not lose her bearings. It was soon obvious that they were in a large basement, filled with a maze like structure of hallways. The walk through the hallways took only minutes, but as the silence stretched – with so many unanswered questions, and unspoken words floating between them, it felt like much longer.

They came to a stop at a wooden door.

"Wait here, I need to check it's clear." cautioned Elliot.

Olivia let out an impatient sigh, as Elliot opened the door and she heard him walk up several steps. He soon came back down and gestured for Olivia to follow.

"We're clear, let's go, I just need to grab my keys and cell." said Elliot.

Olivia followed him through the door and up the steps, and through another door into a well lit room. As Elliot walked over to collect his keys, Olivia remained standing at the doorway, her head resting on the frame as she watched him.

Suddenly noticing her cellphone and radio on the table, she took a breath before speaking.

"How many women have suffered Elliot? How many women are going to suffer tonight if the FBI doesn't move in tonight?"

Elliot sighed, and turned away, allowing Olivia to move forwards and stand in front of the table, blocking his view of her cell phone and radio. He took a breath and turned back to face her. As he spoke she reached behind her and grabbed her cellphone, sliding it close to her.

"It's not my shout Liv, it's a major FBI operation, I don't have the authority to call it. It won't be long though, and we will get the bastards running this from higher up." as he turned to look at the door, she slid her cellphone into her back pocket.

"We have to go, the last thing I want is to see you hurt."

Olivia stared at him, but words would not come. She shook her head slightly, an incredulous look briefly emanating from her eyes, before she pushed it away again and sighed, her eyes leaving him and following his gaze to the door.

"Lets go then El." She said, hoping the sadness she felt was not obvious.

As she followed him through the door, purposely allowing him to take the lead, she put her hand in her pocket, and switched on her cellphone.

**ABANDONED BUILDING**

Amanda walked through the tunnel, carefully shining her flashlight along the walls. She studied the walls carefully, looking for any sign of the indications that the other concealed exits had shared. She could not see any indication of an opening, but unable to let go of her hunch. She was concentrated on her task to such a degree that she was immediately startled by the sudden ringing from her cellphone.

"Rollins."

"Amanda, Olivia's cell is on, a call came through to the precinct, no contact with her, but the call picked up a trace, it's within 30 metres of the building. Your hunch was right, she wasn't in the van. We're on our way." Cragen ended the call as he walked quickly toward Fin to update him.

**SVU SVU SVU SVU SVU SVU SVU SVU**

The team were gathered with uniformed officers in a nearby street, a jam of squad cars blocking the street. Munch joined them, moving to the hood of the car and unrolled a large blueprint.

"We searched the blueprints on the system Munch, we don't have time to go back over this." snapped Fin.

"Au contraire - a little old fashioned leg work pays off sometimes." he replied sardonically as he pointed to the blueprint.

"What are we looking at John?" Captain Cragen asked slightly impatiently.

"These are the original plans, filed before they were computerised. The records on the system were altered - it's a bit harder to delete a whole level from the hard copies." Munch continued.

"There's a whole level underneath the building - it goes outside of the building template and under the street, how did no one find it?" Fin said, annoyed as he studied the blueprints.

"Well we know where to look now." Cragen said, feeling a glimmer of hope.

"There are only three ways in and out, with one side exit concealed 20 meters from where we thought the building's boundary ended, that's our likely entrance, let's move in."

Cragen briefed the officers and his detectives, and they split into teams, ready to move in.

**INSIDE THE BUILDING.**

Olivia continued to follow Elliot through the hallway towards a door. She felt a continuous soft vibration from her cellphone, and knew her call was active and her location would be traced by now.

Suddenly Elliot froze. He stopped so suddenly that she put her hands up and grabbed hold of his arm, to keep her balance. He spun around quickly, a look of panic on his face.

"Shit! " he said. As he approached the small window on the door and glanced outside. "They're back, they should have been gone at least another hour." he grabbed her arm and pulled her back along the hallway and down the steps.

"Elliot! Wait!" Olivia yelled, as she pulled her arm from his grasp. "I need a gun, you must have one. I need to defend myself, you don't exactly have a plan right now!"

"Ok Liv, just..." Elliot shut his eyes and silently swore as the door was opened, flooding the hallway with light.

He spun around and felt instantly sick when he realised Olivia would have no time to run.

Jack pulled his gun and swiftly moved toward her, ramming the gun into her temple.

"What the hell is this? You taking her somewhere?" Craig shouted.

"She got away, she wouldn't have got out the door, It's under control." Elliot said, working hard to control the nervous edge he hoped they would not hear in his voice.

"Get her away from the door!" yelled Craig, gesturing to Jack, who had his gun firmly against Olivia's head.

While keeping the gun to her head, he seized her arm and roughly pulled her back down the steps. Olivia kept her composure as she was forced to go with her captor back through the tunnels. She knew her call would have been traced by now and that back up would soon be on scene.

Stopping abruptly outside a door, he paused to unlock it, carefully keeping the gun to her head, and opened it swiftly, throwing her inside. Olivia grunted in pain as she was thrown with force to the ground.

"If you were getting bored, you might like it better here, with some company." Jack laughed as he exited, slamming the door behind him. The sound of a key turning in the lock told Olivia that it was no use trying the door.

She looked up and saw, to her horror, a woman lying on the floor, bloodied and very still.

Olivia wasted no time in moving over to her and checking for a pulse, realising that this was Alyssa, she let out the breath she didn't realise she was holding when she felt a steady pulse.

"Alyssa, can you hear me? My name is Olivia, I am a detective, officers are on the way, you will be out of here soon." She tried to reassure her, as she smoothed her hair from her face, trying to make her more comfortable in some small way.

She then took her cell phone from her pocket, and saw that her call had ended, no doubt when she was thrown to the floor. She looked at the call history and was relieved to see a nine minute call to the precinct. She tried to redial, but was not surprised when she could not get a signal.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Olivia got to her feet, slipping her cell back into her pocket and standing in front of the injured woman in an attempt to shield her. The two men walked in, and Olivia tried hard to remain composed when she noticed that Elliot was not with them.

She froze as Craig approached her quickly, hitting her across her face. She stumbled backwards, but he hit her again, making her fall to the ground. She immediately tried to get to her feet but was kicked in her side. She lay still, hoping that if she didn't fight that they would stop hurting her. It would do Alyssa no good if she was too badly hurt to protect her.

He stood back, looking at her as she struggled to take a breath. Then he leant down and got on top of her, running his hands over her hips, before roughly shoving his hands down into her back pockets. She sighed in annoyance, as he pulled her cellphone out and threw it against the wall. She watched it smash, feeling a small satisfaction that she had been able to make contact with it in some way before it had been discovered.

"I swear I took her cellphone!" Jack said, frustrated.

"You idiot! She could have sent a message to someone! She had it in her hand."

He moved his face close to Olivia's. She could smell stale beer and cigarettes, and felt suddenly nauseas.

"Did you talk to anyone _sweetheart_?"

Olivia met his stare with a determined, calm response.

"You have five minutes to get out before this place is swarming with police. Leave now and you might just get away."

"You're a lying bitch, if you had called someone would be here by now." he said in a low, menacing voice.

"Well smashing the phone was not your best move then, was it?" she replied sarcastically.

Her last comment made his face flush with anger, and he punched her hard, a trickle of blood beginning to flow from her lip.

Jack laughed, "And I'm the Idiot? "

"Shut up!" he shouted, as he pulled a gun from the back of his pants and held it to Olivia's head. She laid still and cursed herself for jumping involuntarily as his other hand snaked across her abdomen, and up inside her shirt.

_Outside, Elliot swore loudly as he grabbed a gun and rushed back down the hallway._ _He hated himself for leaving Olivia, knowing what these men were capable of, but going after them unarmed would mean neither he nor Olivia would be able to offer much defense, and he had to even out the odds._

As the man eased off of her slightly, grabbing her belt buckle and attempting to unbuckle it, Olivia took her moment, and brought her knee up against his groin, as hard as she could given her position. It was enough to impact him, and he grunted in pain, falling backwards slightly. Olivia rolled over and started to stand up, but he lunged at her, striking her head with his gun.

Olivia fell down, clutching her head as an almost blinding pain cut through her head from the force of the blow.

Jack laughed, "You've got a gun and you still can't keep her under control!"

"Shut up, go find Elliot, and tell him to get everything ready, we're receiving new cargo tonight."

"Fine...if you think you can handle one woman without me!" Jack taunted.

As Elliot approached he saw him leave the room and his heart rose, hoping that they had just locked Olivia in the room and left her alone.

"Elliot, let's get ready, the boss'll be here soon." said Jack.

"Where's Craig?" Elliot asked.

"He's finishing some business first." Jack replied.

Elliot paused, considering his next move, as Jack started to head back down the hallway. Asking about Olivia directly could blow his cover, and this was just not the time to do that.

He jumped when he heard sounds coming from the room, Elliot stared after Jack, who soon realised that Elliot wasn't with him, and turned around with a questioning glare.

Elliot stared at the wall past Jack, his heart racing, when he heard a muffled scream, followed by the sickening sound of a gunshot.

"Fuck!" shouted Elliot, as he turned around and raced back to the room, throwing the door open.

His eyes were drawn straight to Olivia, who was sitting against against the wall, her arms held steady and outstretched, aiming Craig's gun. Taking a mental note that Craig was now lying on the floor, still, a fast river of blood flowing from him, he ran to her, crouching down and putting his hands on her shoulders, locking his eyes with hers.

"Liv, are you ok? Are you hurt? What did that son of a bitch do to you?" as he raised a hand carefully to the side of her head, where her hair was matted with blood.

"I'm fine Elliot..._but we've got company_."

Elliot jumped up, and spun around, pointing his gun as Jack entered the room.

"What the.." began Jack, but Elliot advanced on him, taking advantage of his moment of surprise and grabbed his gun from his hand. He moved quickly, turning him around, and pinning his arms behind his back, just as Jack realised that Elliot was no longer on his side.

Elliot roughly pushed him out of the door, into the room Olivia was originally held in, shoving him hard, and felt a satisfaction at the sound of him groan as his head hit the hard ground. He slammed the door, locking it behind him, and quickly returned to Oliva.

He paused for a moment when he entered the room, and watched Olivia. She was kneeling on the floor next to Alyssa. She was talking in a quiet, comforting voice, and reassuring her that her ordeal was over.

Elliot felt a warmth that surprised him as he watched her for a brief moment, noticing that her empathy and compassion had not waned at all over the years. Whatever her situation might be, _she looked out for the victim at all costs_. He wondered if she even realised that her head was bleeding and probably needed stitches.

"I'm calling my people Liv, they need to get ready to move in when the girls are brought in."

"I think SVU might beat them to it – I called them, they'll have traced it and be on their way by now."

"How did you contact them?" Elliot asked surprised.

"Well..when we went to get your stuff from the room upstairs, I grabbed my cell." Olivia admitted.

"Why didn't you tell me you were calling them Liv? Why did you feel you had to keep that from me?"

"Because you made it clear that this was about the bigger picture, and I couldn't do that – _I couldn't let her die_." Olivia lowered her voice, and stood, moving over to Elliot.

"She's in pretty bad shape El." she whispered.

Elliot sighed, a hint of sadness in his voice.

"You can trust me Liv – I wouldn't have stopped you."

"I didn't give you the chance to try Elliot." Olivia replied quietly. "_I couldn't take that risk._"

Elliot held out his cellphone, his gaze softening as he looked at Olivia.

"You'd better update the team first then."

"Thanks." Olivia replied, watching the phones display as she moved from the room, trying to get a signal. "_Stay with her El._"

Elliot nodded, and crouched down next to Alyssa.

_Elliot could hear Olivia's voice but not make out her words. Her conversation was brief, as she talked quickly, then her footsteps grew louder as she hurried back into the room and passed the phone back to Elliot._

"OK?" Elliot asked her.

"Yeah, they're ready to move in, we just hold our position."

Elliot then repeated Olivia's actions, taking his phone and making a call as soon he had moved far enough out to get a signal, when he returned, Olivia has returned to her previous position next to the victim, but this time was checking her pulse.

She glanced up, briefly meeting Elliot's eyes.

"_Weak, but steady_." she whispered.

Suddenly, an alarm pinged softly from the wall outside.

"Here we go." said Elliot, as he left the room.

_The next thirty minutes were a blur of police and FBI officers, moving in, and deftly securing the arrests of 5 traffickers. 10 women, including Alyssa were rescued. Alyssa was stabilized and taken quickly to hospital. Elliot stood outside the building, leaning against the wall, as she was taken into the ambulance. He was giving a summary to his supervisory agent, but was only half aware of his questions, as his gaze keep returning to Olivia, who was sitting at the back of an ambulance, while EMT's examined her head wound. Clearly annoyed at the attention and fuss, Olivia was doing her best to assure them that she didn't need to go to the hospital._

"Elliot – you with me?"

"Yeah, yeah I am, sorry - are we done?" he asked, feeling suddenly anxious to reach Olivia.

"We are – just take it easy – i'll see you late tomorrow to debrief." He said, holding a key card in front of him. "Here, i've booked you into a room, no sense trying to make it back tonight, it's only 30 minutes away, I'll take you."

"Can you hold on for a bit?" Elliot asked.

Elliot didn't wait for a reply and walked quickly toward the ambulance, where Cragen was now talking to Olivia, who had convinced the EMT to treat her injury in the ambulance. He smiled slightly, knowing Olivia was OK if she was doing her best to stay out of a hospital trip.

"_He's fine, Nick's got patched up and came straight back to the precinct – against medical advice, to assist Liv. I'll call him now and update him, he'll be relieved you're OK too. Stay by your phone in case you're needed. Go home and rest."_

Elliot held back, and when Cragen had walked away, he continued towards Olivia, smiling at her, until she looked up and smiled back at him. The EMT stood behind her, securing the tape on her stitches.

Elliot sat down next to her, and suddenly neither of them could find words. They both remained in silence, until the EMT patted Olivia on the shoulder, making her jump slightly.

"You're all done."

"Thanks." she replied, turning to Elliot.

"It's good to see you Liv." he said, before she had a chance to speak.

"I've missed you – I got your messages, and I wanted to call. I read about your abduction in the Ledger, and when it was over, when you came out of that house, I saw it on TV – I wanted to be there with you – it should have been me walking you out of there." He placed his hand on her shoulder, and was suddenly aware of her tension. "_What did that bastard do to you Liv_?"

"_Not now Elliot_, this is the last thing I want to talk about right now." She replied, hints of anger beginning in her voice.

"I should have been there – I should have helped you."

Olivia sighed, her gradual irritation building to a peak.

"How exactly, Elliot, could you do that?"

He looked at her confused, before she continued.

"If I had called, you wouldn't have picked up the damn phone, so you would never have been there to _help." _she said angrily.

"Liv.." he began.

She raised her hand slightly in a gesture intended to silence him.

"Just stop Elliot, I can't listen to this, just go. I just want to go home and get away from here."

He moved closer to put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, _I should have talked to you_."

Olivia looked at him in disbelief, shrugging his hand from her shoulder as her hand slapped hard across his face.

"I SAID GO!" She yelled.

Elliot, stared at her motionless for a moment, before letting out a deep, angry breath, and standing. He continued looking at her, but she looked away, not wanting to meet his eyes.

He turned around, and walked away, too tired to think of the right words to possibly begin to repair their broken relationship.

**Will Liv come to her senses and give Elliot a chance? Please read and review. :-)**


	4. Chapter 4

Usual disclaimer - these are not my characters, and I do not own one single aspect of Law and Order *sigh* If I did...oh the things I would do!

I'm so pleased with the response this story has got - I hope you'll like this chapter, there is only the epilogue after this, which is a bit shorter, but necessary as I couldn't leave it like this! I wont leave it too long to upload the conclusion.

Elliot laid back on the bed in his hotel room.

It was lit only with the dim light of the lamps, he wanted the lighting dimmed, he did not want to fill the room with brightness, but he didn't want to sleep either.

_He couldn't sleep._

Olivia had occupied his thoughts for the past two and a half years, and after all that had happened, he could not get her out of his mind. He was filled with an almost uncontrollable compulsion to go and find her, talk to her_,_ explain why he left, where he had been, what screwed up emotional mess had stopped him from contacting her:

_He knew he had hurt her, cutting her out of his life after sharing such a big portion of their lives together._

He cursed himself for being totally unable to put his thoughts into words, to formulate any kind of speech that would be enough, that could come close to matching what she deserved to hear from him..

He tried to speak to her by the ambulance, tried to reach out to her and connect in some kind of real way, but the coldness in her voice had struck him hard. Of all the things he could have said to her when he finally had the chance, when they were alone, and he had brought up what was probably the worst ordeal of her life – that he knew of.

He was painfully reminded that he knew little of her life since he had left...

He closed his eyes and let out the frustrated breath that he had not realised he had been holding in. His thoughts swirled around in his head, angry, blazing, furious - at her for not leaving a window open for him, even though he knew he had no right to expect one, but mostly at himself for his inability to just talk to her.

He got up from the bed and went to the small fridge containing the hotel mini bar. Opening it, he took out a beer, and then he kicked the door closed. He glanced around but could not spot a bottle opener, sighing, he went to place the bottle on the table, but all he could see was the coldness in her eyes, the harsh tone of her voice when she cut his attempt at a conversation off.

The rage bubbled up, until Elliot's fury took over him and he hurled the unopened beer bottle at the wall. It smashed, sending streams of liquid running down the mirror on the wall.

He sat back and looked at the broken glass littering the table top, but felt no relief from the uncontrollable feelings that were devouring him viscously. Then he stared at his reflection in the mirror.

"_I love her_," he whispered, "_Why the fuck couldn't I ever tell her_?"

He took a deep breath and let it out, but instead of feeling any kind of relief, he just felt even angrier, and in a sudden movement, he lunged at the mirror, slamming his fist into it. The mirror shattered around his fist, and he stood still, watching the blood starting to slowly seep out from his hand. He opened his hand, and stared hard at the blood.

A sudden knock at the door startled him, and he jumped, taking a deep breath before approaching the door. He didn't stop to check who was at the door, he just wanted to deal with the intrusion into his spiralling emotional state, and send them on their way. He flung the door open, and stood frozen, as he was met with Olivia, her hand raised to knock on the door. They were silent for a few moments, neither able to say the first word, both lost in the hopelessness of their attempts to talk to each other.

"_Elliot...I..._" Her eyes immediately went to his hand, and she sighed, "What did you do?" then walked in and closed the door behind her.

Once inside she silently walked to the bathroom, turning on the light, and ran the water, finding a hand towel. She looked up, meeting his eyes, and he followed her into the bathroom. She held up the dampened towel and he walked over to her and sat on the edge of the bath, allowing her to clean his hand. She winced as she pulled out a piece of glass, but he didn't seem to notice. He was staring at her, but not meeting her eyes.

"Why'd you come here Liv?" he whispered, seemingly unaware of the wounds on his hand.

She continued dabbing the damp towel on his cut, focusing her eyes on his hand, and avoiding meeting his.

"What is there left to say El?" Olivia began, hoping that her brewing emotions did not spill out and let him see through her mask of togetherness.

"You were my best friend, we spend over a decade together..." she continued, her voice rising, as her emotions began to trickle out.

"_A decade_!" she inwardly winced as she heard the sound of her voice breaking, but failed to reel it in.

She was close to losing control now, and she hated that he would see her emotional, breaking, and she hated even more than he knew he was the reason for it. The reason her feelings were piercing through her heart just standing here with him.

She stepped back, placing the bloodied towel in the sink.

"_You're lucky_."

He stood, and looked at her, their eyes locking, for the first time since their failed conversation in the car earlier.

"Lucky? _How_ am I lucky?" El looked at her exasperated, "I couldn't come back, day after day, seeing the very ground that she lay bleeding in my arms on, knowing I was the one who caused her death. I had to leave, I couldn't face it any more. Detectives don't stay in SVU for more than a couple of years, but I just couldn't leave – maybe I was on a slow burn out and I just couldn't face another day. I told you once, that you and the job were all I had left, Olivia."

She turned away and took a deep breath.

Elliot reached up and gently took hold of her arm.

"No Liv, _don't_ look away, _don't _leave me, I feel like you're already gone and you're standing right here. Just hear me out, please?"

Olivia nodded and turned back, her eyes meeting his, and she immediately noticed the depth of feeling behind his eyes, and wondered how much hers betrayed her own emotions right now...

He dropped his hand from her arm and looked at her.

"I knew the moment I fired my gun that day that I couldn't come back to my job – you were all I had left from that moment on. So tell me, how I am lucky?" his voice rose as his anger spilled out, "Because I choked on my screwed up life and left behind the only thing I had left. I loved you – I love you, and I hate myself for hurting you, but leaving everything behind was the only way I could go on. I loved you and I shut you out – now I've lost you too, tell me again _how_ I'm lucky?"

Elliot walked over to the bed and sat down, leaning forward, hanging his head, no longer wanting to look at her.

Olivia swallowed hard, and cleared her throat, unsure if words would actually come out. "_Your hand El_." she said quietly.

He looked up, "What?"

"You're lucky...that you don't need stitches...it could have been so much worse."

He lifted his head and their eyes locked.

She almost smiled, before her eyes filled with tears as she tried to form words, "_El, I...I._.."

"Don't, Liv, I just can't talk any more, I just don't want to think any more."

"You _loved_ me?" Olivia breathed.

"...Love, Olivia... I've never stopped being... in love with you. I fucking..._ache_ for you and it just gets worse the more time passes."

Olivia sighed, her breath shuddering with her failed attempts to conceal her own feelings. She moved closer to him, standing in front of him, just inches apart.

"If you loved me, if I were all you had left. Why did you do that to me? I called you every day at first, then eventually I gave up and accepted that you didn't want me in your life. After everything we had shared, for so many years – do you know how much that destroyed me? I went through hell Elliot..." Olivia surprised herself as she kept her tears from falling, and heard the strength returning to her voice.

"It was all over the news – I was at the lowest point in my life, trying to figure out how to even exist any more – and you didn't call me, even then!" her own anger started to channel, and her voice rose to an almost shouting pitch, "_Then you tell me you love me_?"

"Liv..." Elliot whispered.. "I should have been there. I left you. _I failed you_. I would never have let some psycho get to you. I would have found you long before they did. _I would have protected you with my life."_

Olivia was silent, their eyes remained locked on each other, both unable to look away. Elliot was unable to look away because he feared that she was somehow locked in place, and he feared that looking away, even for a second, would allow her to break away, and sever whatever it was that was binding her to this moment. So he looked at her, not caring how much desperation and regret poured out of his eyes, as long as she didn't turn and leave.

"It's too late Liv, I get that, and I've hurt you. I don't expect anything from you, but..._give me this._...just let me hold you before you go."

Elliot sighed, the expression in her eyes was unreadable – he had always known what was under the surface, always read her so easily. Not knowing her any more, that was new territory and it left him feeling too much regret to carry any more.

"_Can I hold you Liv_?" he whispered...

"Yes." she replied, so quietly that he wasn't sure she had actually said it at first.

He paused, noticing her softening expression, and then he felt relief course through him. She sat down on the bed next to him, and he moved to put his arms around her, but was startled when she returned his embrace.

They sat and held each other, and Elliot tightened his hold on her when he felt her breath begin to shudder, as she began to sob. He held her closer, her head resting on his chest, and his chin dipped to the top of her head, breathing in her scent, feeling for the first time in the past two and a half years, alive and awake again just being close to her.

Eventually Olivia's tears slowed, and then Elliot began rubbing small circles on her back. He felt her relax in his arms and he took a chance to take this fragile moment and grasp it with all the strength he had remaining. He pulled her gently down on to the bed with him, and they instinctively shifted their positions, until they were lying on the bed, and then fitted easily back into each others arms.

"Stay with me Liv? Just lay here with me, and let me hold you."

Elliot swallowed against the anxiety which built up with her silence, until she finally spoke.

"_Ok, El_." she whispered.

They lay together, enjoying the warmth and familiarity of each other, both unsure what would happen when they woke, but neither wanting to leave the others hold, for fear of shattering the last remnants of whatever it is was that they had left between them.

As the last light of the day finally died, they both fell into a deep, restful sleep. Olivia's bore no nightmares of Lewis, and Elliot's none of Jenna's shooting. They slept contentedly for the first time in a very long time, and remained in the fragile sanctity of each others arms.

**What will happen when they wake? Will Olivia leave? Where will they both go from here?**


	5. Chapter 5

**I do not own these characters or Law and Order in any way shape or form :-( **

**This the final chapter, it's a bit shorter, but I couldn't leave these two at that point, I had to take it a little further to see if they would move on from all this together or not. I hope you all like the ending. **

Olivia woke first, unsure for a moment of where she was, to the sound of her cell phone vibrating. She shifted slightly, spotting it on the table, surrounded by the shattered glass, and she shivered.

"Olivia?" Elliot said, waking as soon as her movement roused him.

"Yeah?" she breathed, her voice barely a whisper.

"Ignore it."

"It's probably Cragen, I don't want him thinking the worst, I better let him know I'm OK."

Elliot sighed as she moved from his arms, and got up, picking up her phone, but felt a twinge of hope, as she returned, sitting close to him on the bed as she looked at her phone.

"8 missed calls, _shit._"

She immediately dialled, and paused, waiting for the other person to pick up.

"Captain...yeah, I'm sorry, I just fell asleep, I was exhausted, it was...OK, yeah, _I'm fine_. I'll be there soon...no, I don't need..." she glanced at Elliot, and their eyes locked, as her voice wavered.

"Actually Captain, I will... a couple of days. Yes, I'll stay by the phone, I can come in any time...OK...Fin called, can you tell him I'm OK?...thanks, I will. Bye."

"OK?" Elliot asked.

"Yeah" she sighed, "I shouldn't have missed their calls, they were worried. I can't remember the last time I slept that well."

"Me neither. _Liv_..." He began.

"El..."Olivia said, as she put her phone down on the bed, and shifted position so that she was half turned towards him.

"You should call Kathy..." Liv began hesitantly.

"We were divorced six months ago, but I'll call her once I'm ready, I need to arrange to see Eli, I've been under for four months, It's hard not seeing him."

He placed a hand on her shoulder, and gently caressed her upper arm tentatively, watching her, as she looked at him.

"I don't know what to do right now El. Part of my mind is screaming at me to walk out of here and not look back."

"I would deserve that Liv, I would understand, but please...don't run from me this time, _can we just both be done with running_?"

Olivia closed her eyes and shakily grazed her bottom lip with her teeth as she struggled with her battling emotions.

"I want you in my life Liv, I know I'm being selfish to put this out there after the way I've so badly screwed up with you, but If this is the last time you're going to let me in, then I have to take a chance."

He ran his hand gently down her arm, stopping as he reached her hand. She instinctively reacted to his touch, and they both interlaced their fingers. She kept her eyes on their intertwined hands, turning to face him, more comfortably.

"I love you Liv, I need you to know that, even if you turn around and walk away today, _I'll never love anyone as deeply_."

"Oh God El..." Liv began, closing her eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I know this must be scaring the crap out of you, for me to come out with this, to put all this on you, but I can't take the regret in knowing I never even told you."

"You're an idiot Elliot, you know that?" Olivia said, opening her eyes and looking at him, her voice betraying no hint of her feelings.

"Yeah, I figured that much." Elliot said.

"I don't deserve a minute of your time, but now that I have you here, I'll be damned if I can let myself watch you walk away without saying this, so I'm going to be an idiot, and tell you I love you, _because this moment, right here, is all I have left_."

Elliot let out an exhausted breath, feeling deflated but suddenly calm.

Olivia gave a small smile.

"You're an idiot El, because you can't see..._this_..." she said, raising her arms, to gesture around her, without letting their fingers separate.

"This?" Elliot looked around the room, seeing only smashed glass and dried beer stains on the walls.

"What _this_ is." she simply replied.

"I'm not about to run El."

"Why?" Elliot asked cautiously, not giving himself time to process her words.

Olivia started speaking, her voice shaking as her words tumbled out.

"I love you, and you hurt me beyond words, and I've been through a hell I never imagined, but I laid in your arms all night - and when I woke, I still felt the same – _safe_ and...something I just haven't felt in a long time...safe..._and happy_... So, I don't know exactly where that puts us, but..."

Her words were silenced as he leaned in and kissed her. She froze at the feeling of his lips against hers, the unfamiliarity of a sensation she had only imagined for so many years.

Just as he was beginning to curse himself that he had pushed too far, he felt relief wash over him as she returned his kiss, and they both moved seamlessly into each others arms.

The moment felt nothing but right, and they both knew that from this moment onwards, the one thing they both had, was each other.

**I hope you guys like the ending - I couldn't let Liv walk away! I have a one shot set in season 13 (with Elliot) that I am editing now, so that will be posted soon, and I have begun another story - set in season 8, but don't worry Dani Beck isn't it, i'm E/O all the way! :-) Follow me for updates, the one shot will be coming pretty soon.**

Thank you for reading :-)


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